Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov said that Chechens will not fight alongside Iran in its war with the United States and Israel.
He posted such a statement in Russian and Arabic on his Telegram channel on the evening of April 8, because, he said, “it is spreading on the Internet that so-called Chechen units are ready to move to Iran to repel an American ground attack.”
The head of Chechnya said: “This could happen if Iran only fought against the United States and Israel. But they also attack our brothers. Without a doubt, I personally support Iran, with a word ‘but’ – I do not support Iran’s strikes on civilian targets and civilian infrastructure in the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf.”
According to Kadyrov, he has “fraternal relations” with the leaders of the Emirates, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia. He added: “It is very sad to see civilians in these and other third countries become innocent victims of the conflict.”
Ramzan Kadyrov said in March that he considered Iranian strikes on US military bases in the Middle East “an expected response to the enemy.” At the same time, he described attacks on civilian infrastructure and the death of civilians as unacceptable.
Chechen units are participating in the major war between Russia and Ukraine. Security Service of Ukraine in 2022 malewhich collected “indisputable evidence of war crimes” on the part of Kadyrov and two of his subordinates. According to the Security Service of Ukraine, in February and March 2022, Kadyrov personally developed and planned some military operations in Ukraine. Chechen military personnel were also suspected of war crimes.